Sharks’ Vlasic responds to embellishment charges with defiance

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San Jose Sharks’ Marc-Edouard Vlasic (44) skates on the ice against the Minnesota Wild in the first period of their NHL game at the SAP Center in San Jose, Calif., on Sunday, December 10, 2017. (Josie Lepe/Bay Area News Group)

San Jose Sharks defenseman Marc-Edouard Vlasic (44) gets slammed against the glass by Golden Knights center Jonathan Marchessault (81) during the first period of Game 5 of an NHL hockey second-round playoff series at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on Friday, May 4, 2018. Chase Stevens Las Vegas Review-Journal @csstevensphoto

San Jose Sharks’ Marc-Edouard Vlasic (44) tries to get a shot off against Buffalo Sabres’ Jake McCabe (19) in the first period at the SAP Center in San Jose, Calif., on Thursday, Oct. 18, 2018. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group)

San Jose Sharks defenseman Marc-Edouard Vlasic (44) and Arizona Coyotes center Christian Dvorak (18) battle at the goal in the overtime period at SAP Center on Saturday, Jan. 13, 2018, in San Jose, Calif. San Jose Sharks defenseman Marc-Edouard Vlasic (44) was credited with the goal that was kicked in by Arizona Coyotes center Christian Dvorak (18). (Jim Gensheimer/Bay Area News Group)

San Jose Sharks’ Marc-Edouard Vlasic (44) lies on the ice after being hit in the face by a puck in the third period in a NHL game against the Philadelphia Flyers at the SAP Center in San Jose, Calif., on Friday, Dec. 30, 2016. (Anda Chu/Bay Area News Group)

Ottawa Senators center Kyle Turris fights with San Jose Sharks defenceman Marc-Edouard Vlasic during the second period of an NHL hockey game Wednesday, Dec. 14, 2016, in Ottawa, Ontario. (Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press via AP)

San Jose Sharks’ Marc-Edouard Vlasic (44) converses with Tampa Bay Lightning coach Jon Cooper at the end of the third period of their NHL game at SAP Center in San Jose, Calif. on Wednesday, November 8, 2017. (Josie Lepe/Bay Area News Group)

San Jose Sharks’ Marc-Edouard Vlasic (44) fires the puck against the Chicago Blackhawks in the first period of their NHL game at SAP Center in San Jose, Calif., on Tuesday, January 31, 2017. (Josie Lepe/Bay Area News Group)

Pittsburgh Penguins center Sidney Crosby (87) gets squeezed out by San Jose Sharks defenseman Marc-Edouard Vlasic (44) and center Chris Tierney (50) in the second period at SAP Center on Saturday, Jan. 20, 2018, in San Jose, Calif. (Jim Gensheimer/Bay Area News Group)

Wednesday, on the heels of the Sharks 5-4 win over the Nashville Predators, TSN analyst Darren Dreger suggested via Twitter that Vlasic be added to the NHL’s embellishment list for drawing a questionable high-sticking penalty that led to the game-winning goal. Dreger, a highly-respected Canadian reporter, included a Tweet from former Predators forward Mike Fisher that showed a slow-motion video of the play in question. In the video, Vlasic ducks and grabs his face after Viktor Arvidsson’s stick waved past his head.

Vlasic very likely added to the leagues embellishment list for this. GM’s have never been in favour of vid review for this in past. https://t.co/zF4AaUQAd7

The NHL introduced the embellishment list during the 2014-15 season as a public-shaming tool to discourage players from diving or flopping in an effort to draw a penalty.

Sharks coach Pete DeBoer, who holds two law degrees, made a better case in defense of Vlasic than the defendant himself did. Instead of repeating Vlasic’s claim that stick hit his helmet — a claim that is being challenged by video — DeBoer introduced Vlasic’s medical history.

“I don’t think for one minute that it was embellishment,”DeBoer said. “He saw a guy going at full speed in the opposite direction and a stick flashed around his face. When you’ve played, and taken pucks and sticks in the head like Pickles has over the years, that’s a natural reaction.

“You don’t get a lot of those in the TV or radio booth,” he said, a pointed jab at Dreger.

No one could blame Vlasic for being jumpy with a stick in his face. In 2016-17, he suffered nerve damage and fractures above his upper lip after he took a redirected shot from Philadelphia Flyers defenseman Shayne Gostisbehere to the face. On March 17, he left a game against the Vancouver Canucks after getting hit by a shot in the throat area.

Vlasic’s teammate, Logan Couture, supported the defense, saying he has snapped his head back on plays in which his visor was struck by a stick. Additionally, Couture doesn’t think it’s in Vlasic’s character to embellish.

“I’ve played with him for 10 years and I’ve never sat on the bench and thought, somebody needs to tell Picks to stop diving out there,” the Sharks alternate captain said.

Couture and Evander Kane had rushed to their teammate’s defense Wednesday via social media, each responding directly to Dreger. Couture pointed out that Joe Pavelski got called for high-sticking P.K. Subban in Tuesday’s game when the Predators defenseman was actually struck by the stick of a teammate, Ryan Johansen.

“Post that video,” Couture tweeted at Dreger.

Kane wrote: “Missed about 3 other high sticks before that, but hey who’s counting.”

In DeBoer’s opinion, the embellishment list should be used to eliminate egregious flops. Vlasic’s reaction to Arvidsson’s stick is too ambiguous to fall into that category, especially for a player who has managed to play 12 seasons without developing a reputation for being a diver.

If Vlasic had fallen to the ice, the Sharks coach would have been willing to call it embellishment.

“When I think of the word embellishment, I’m thinking of the soccer-game dives,” DeBoer said. “For the most part, we have gotten rid of that. The guys who are historic offenders have been put on notice.”

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The play comes at a time when the hockey world is debating whether video review should be used for high sticking and embellishment penalties.

Neither DeBoer nor Couture support that idea.

“You can’t slow the game down with video review on every play,” Couture said Thursday. “Our referees are the best in the world, but they make mistakes. You can’t just pick out one play in a game and complain about it when there’s a lot of other things that happen.”

Said DeBoer: “I get why we do it with goals, but where does it end if we expand it into that? Is that a trip? Is that a hook? Is that a slash? It’s endless.”

And 1st period when Subban drew a highstick call from his teammate…post that video